title: The immediate upstream region of the 5'-UTR from the AUG start codon has a pronounced effect on the translational efficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: The nucleotide sequence around the translational initiation site is an important cis-acting element for post-transcriptional regulation. However, it has not been fully understood how the sequence context at the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) affects the translational efficiency of individual mRNAs. In this study, we provide evidence that the 5'-UTRs of Arabidopsis genes showing a great difference in the nucleotide sequence vary greatly in translational efficiency with more than a 200-fold difference. Of the four types of nucleotides, the A residue was the most favourable nucleotide from positions -1 to -21 of the 5'-UTRs in Arabidopsis genes. In particular, the A residue in the 5'-UTR from positions -1 to -5 was required for a high-level translational efficiency. In contrast, the T residue in the 5'-UTR from positions -1 to -5 was the least favourable nucleotide in translational efficiency. Furthermore, the effect of the sequence context in the -1 to -21 region of the 5'-UTR was conserved in different plant species. Based on these observations, we propose that the sequence context immediately upstream of the AUG initiation codon plays a crucial role in determining the translational efficiency of plant genes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, School of Bioscience and Bioengineering and Division of Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
authors.forename: Younghyun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Goeun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eunhyun
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Eun Ju
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Yongjik
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyangju
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Dong Wook
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Dae Heon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Inhwan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D000225:Adenine / Q000737:chemistry; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D018387:Codon, Initiator; D017343:Genes, Plant; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D018387:Codon, Initiator; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000225:Adenine